Documents, Volume 14, Part 3 Introduction: March 1844
Part
3: March 1844
On several occasions in March 1844, JS confronted challenges to his
religious and political authority in ,
Illinois. For example, steamboat captains were refusing to pay city
wharfage when using the upper landing in Nauvoo, leading JS, as
mayor, to call a city council meeting on 5 March. The council subsequently
passed a motion to develop and open a street along the to confirm the
city’s ownership of the landing. In a discourse two days later, JS expressed his intention to
sustain the city’s laws. He also complained about lawyers appealing
cases to the circuit court, certain
citizens telling steamboat captains they did not have to pay
wharfage, and a letter criticizing JS, which was published in a newspaper, that he accused Nauvoo resident of
writing.
Later in the month, on 24 March, JS spoke twice at a Sunday meeting
in .
During his first address, he exposed a reported plot
by , , ,
, and to have him and
his family murdered. During his second
address, he explained that his religious authority came
from the truth of the doctrines he taught rather than by compelling
others to follow his teachings.
While facing these tensions in , JS sought redress for past wrongs
and protection from future ones. He commissioned to draft an
open
letter to the citizens of , encouraging them to make restitution for the
offenses they had committed against the . Nauvoo’s city
government also sent a memorial, which was drafted in December 1843, to the Congress. The
memorial requested the city be granted all the powers and rights
belonging to a federal territory of the United States until the
state of
Missouri provided redress for the Saints’ losses. It also asked that
federal troops be made available as necessary to help the repel mobs and keep the peace.
, a city council member and church , was charged with delivering this memorial to
, and on
12 March, JS, as mayor of Nauvoo,
provided Pratt with a letter authorizing him to act on behalf of
the city.
In March, JS also considered measures
relating to the westward expansion of the and the
potential emigration of some Latter-day Saints to the . In a 7 March meeting, he spoke to a large group in about
his presidential candidacy and, among other things, advocated for
the annexation of Texas by the . A few days
later, on 10 March, JS received two letters
from leaders in the church’s lumber camps in
suggesting that the Saints living there relocate to Texas. To
consider this proposition, JS formed a council that evening and the
next day oversaw the formal organization of the group, which would
soon be known as the . The
council met various times in March, and on 26 March it approved a memorial that petitioned Congress to make JS a member of
the United States Army and authorize him to gather one hundred
thousand armed volunteers to protect settlers migrating to lands
adjacent to the United States.
JS also spent time tending to the
spiritual needs of the Saints. On 10
March, he delivered a discourse in on the spirit of Elias, the spirit of Elijah, and
the “spirit of Messiah.” During this sermon, he also prophesied
about the second coming of Jesus Christ. On an individual
level, JS met with and . John was a member of the church whose faith had
been shaken by negative reports about the church’s leaders.
Catharine had been praying for her husband, and John now felt ready
to pay his . At his meeting with JS, he donated
money toward the construction of the
and JS gave him and Catharine a blessing.
Even as JS ministered to his people’s
spiritual needs, he also dealt with administrative matters, both far
afield and near to home. On 13 March, JS and his brother signed a letter of
authorization for church
to serve as an for the church in Great
Britain. Later in the month, JS
received a letter from announcing the
creation of a in LaSalle
County, Illinois, and asking the to send certain missionaries to preach
in the area.
Part 3 features fifteen documents. In addition to the
documents already described, the part includes a letter from apostle
reporting on his activities in , a letter
JS wrote to several individuals
asking for their assistance in clarifying who owned a tract of land
near , and a
letter from a resident
requesting a copy of JS’s presidential campaign
pamphlet.